Lone Lake (Whidbey Island) Carp!

Several organizations are coming together to hopefully improve the quality trout fishing opportunities in Lone Lake. Working hand in hand these organizations hope to improve the vegetation growth, reduce the carp population and improve the quality trout fishing. The lack of vegetation in the lake causes warming in the Summer - too warm for triploid survival!

In June 2013, 2 Carp exclusion nets will be installed to see if vegetation will come back. See attached files below for more information on what is happening, who is involved and who to contact to help out.

I'm curious about your reference that the water being too warm for triploids to survive. Looking at the past stocking reports, it seems they put very few triploids in Lone. So warm water only effects triploids but not diploids?
Personally, I wish they won't plant triploids in any selective lake fisheries.
SF

I'm curious about your reference that the water being too warm for triploids to survive. Looking at the past stocking reports, it seems they put very few triploids in Lone. So warm water only effects triploids but not diploids?
Personally, I wish they won't plant triploids in any selective lake fisheries.
SF

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Brian
This all over my head, but I understand triploid rainbow trout do not survive well in the summer water temps of a shallow water body like Lone Lk. Not sure if this is fact or theory.

Maybe forum member Shaker Jake will add some facts to this conversation.

Here's some info on the project and triploid survival. For the past several years Lone stocking numbers have included around 10% triploids (average weight was around 24 oz) , with the rest being normal catchables (8 to 10"). Evergreen Fly Fishing Club members did a study on growth and condition of the trout. We caught and measured (carefully) 469 trout over two years. Average length was 15.5" and average weight was 23.4 oz. Of the 469 fish, only 9 were 18 1/2 or better. That's less than 2%. Biggest was 19". We observed lots of dy off in the late summer, but they were all bigger fish. The 15" fish seemed to do fine. However, all fish lost weight over the summer (average weight per unit of length dropped) but gained weight over the winter. It seemed to us that those triploids should have continued to grow and show up as big fish. So I wrote Andrew Barfoot at Troutlodge. Here's what he said - "There is actually a pretty simple explanation for why you are not seeing the triploids survive and grow into the large fish you are targeting. The reason is the water temperatures in the summer. Triploids are very susceptible to temperatures of >70F, especially for any duration of time. The diploid fish are much heartier when it comes to high water temps, and that is why they are surviving when the others are not. You will get some of these diploids to grow to 22”. However, you are not going to get the triploids through unless water temperatures do not exceed 70F." So we then put temp loggers in Lone last summer to actually see what the temperatures were. They approached 70 but did not go over. We are running temp loggers again this summer.

How do we actually control for temperature in such a large water body? Well, it will help if we reduce the algae production in the lake, and the best way to do that is to help re-establish aquatic vegetation (that the carp are eating). These vascular plants will lock up some of the nitrogen that the algae is using. The lake waters will be clearer, and sunlight will not heat it up as much. So the carp gotta go, too.

We have been trying to reduce carp numbers for three years under a special permit from WDFW. So far we've captured just under 40 fish. This year, we will be netting some of them out in September if the stars are aligned.

Hope this helps explain why we are doing the project. We ALL like BIG TROUT! By the way, WDFW did not stock triploids in Lone this year. I guess it figured the lake didn't need them. This was after we gave them all our data on growth.

Here's some info on the project and triploid survival. For the past several years Lone stocking numbers have included around 10% triploids (average weight was around 24 oz) , with the rest being normal catchables (8 to 10"). Evergreen Fly Fishing Club members did a study on growth and condition of the trout. We caught and measured (carefully) 469 trout over two years. Average length was 15.5" and average weight was 23.4 oz. Of the 469 fish, only 9 were 18 1/2 or better. That's less than 2%. Biggest was 19". We observed lots of dy off in the late summer, but they were all bigger fish. The 15" fish seemed to do fine. However, all fish lost weight over the summer (average weight per unit of length dropped) but gained weight over the winter. It seemed to us that those triploids should have continued to grow and show up as big fish. So I wrote Andrew Barfoot at Troutlodge. Here's what he said - "There is actually a pretty simple explanation for why you are not seeing the triploids survive and grow into the large fish you are targeting. The reason is the water temperatures in the summer. Triploids are very susceptible to temperatures of >70F, especially for any duration of time. The diploid fish are much heartier when it comes to high water temps, and that is why they are surviving when the others are not. You will get some of these diploids to grow to 22”. However, you are not going to get the triploids through unless water temperatures do not exceed 70F." So we then put temp loggers in Lone last summer to actually see what the temperatures were. They approached 70 but did not go over. We are running temp loggers again this summer.

How do we actually control for temperature in such a large water body? Well, it will help if we reduce the algae production in the lake, and the best way to do that is to help re-establish aquatic vegetation (that the carp are eating). These vascular plants will lock up some of the nitrogen that the algae is using. The lake waters will be clearer, and sunlight will not heat it up as much. So the carp gotta go, too.

We have been trying to reduce carp numbers for three years under a special permit from WDFW. So far we've captured just under 40 fish. This year, we will be netting some of them out in September if the stars are aligned.

Hope this helps explain why we are doing the project. We ALL like BIG TROUT! By the way, WDFW did not stock triploids in Lone this year. I guess it figured the lake didn't need them. This was after we gave them all our data on growth.

Click to expand...

Good report and excellent data to pass on to WDFW. Sounds like the grass carp usage was misguided or the amount planted was way too many.